Spinning
by The Moxie Fox
Summary: What happens when the Collège Françoise Dupont students decide to play an innocent game of spin the bottle? Well, when Chloe's deciding the rules, things are bound to get heated. A very familiar kiss tells all in this reveal fic. *Please note, some season 2 spoilers of currently released episodes are present.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hi everyone! I'm very new to the Miraculous LB and CN fandom but I've fallen in love with this show fast! It really made me want to try my hand at some different stories for our favorite couple! Hopefully this first foray into fic writing isn't too horrible!

* * *

"We should _totally_ do another party at my hotel this weekend! It wasn't _completely_ awful last time and Daddy will be away on business so we could _really_ have fun with it! And it will be another great opportunity for me to show Adrikins just how..." Chloe trailed off as she struggled to get the last words out, "ngh...nice...I can be!"

Sabrina nodded excitedly. "Yes Chloe, you _always_ have the _best_ ideas!"

' _Brown noser_.' Chloe thought smugly to herself.

"Of course I do! Now send a text to everyone inviting them at 6 o 'clock!" Chloe barked.

"Certainly Chloe! Right away Chloe!" Sabrina complied without hesitation.

* * *

"What the...?" Marinette held her phone in the tips of her fingers, arm outstretched as far as possible. "Tikki, do you think Chloe messaged me by mistake? What could _she_ possibly want?"

"Maybe she feels bad about what she did at school today and wants to apologize?" Tikki offered with her usual surge of optimism.

"Hah. Yeah I seriously doubt that." Marinette chortled as she opened the message and began to read.

"Huh. Her dad is out of town so she wants to throw another party."

"Are you going to go?" Tikki questioned her.

"Bleck! _No way_! Like I'd want to spend my precious weekend hanging around that brat!" Marinette retorted, sticking her tongue out.

Suddenly her phone lit up with an incoming call from Alya.

"Girl, did you get the invite?" her auburn-headed friend asked immediately, forgoing standard phone etiquette.

"Yes, and before you can say anything else, of course I am **NOT** going!" Marinette replied adamantly.

"Even if Nino brings Adrien?" Alya smugly quipped.

"Eeep! You really think his dad would let him out that late?!" Marinette squeaked.

"Well, _that_ I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to try! Why not see before you get dead set on not going?" came the sly reply.

Marinette sighed heavily. She really did choose a pushy best friend. But she loved her all the more for it.

Marinette sighed dreamily as she suddenly became lost in a vision of her and Adrien getting cozy at the party. She was startled from her reverie by Alya's impatient sigh. "Marinette? Are you even listening anymore? What do you say?"

Marinette let out an exasperated noise. "Alright! You twisted my arm!" As if to emphasize her point, she threw her arm in the air, then quickly dropped it remembering that Alya couldn't see it.

"Okay I'll see you in school tomorrow! I've gotta go call Nino!" Without waiting for Marinette's reply, the call went dark.

Marinette lost herself once again in a daydream of slow-dancing with Adrien at the party like last time.

* * *

Too excited to sleep much, Marinette made it to school in record time. Skipping along with the high of knowing she'd really impress Madame Bustier when she walked in to the classroom early for once, she failed to notice Chloe's foot jutting out in front of her. Before she could really register what had just happened, she found herself in Adrien's arms.

 _'Am I still dreaming? He literally has the most gorgeous eyes ever. How is he such a perfect specimen? Wait, why is he staring at me like that? Oh gosh! This isn't a dream! Marinette, you blue-haired freak! Snap out of it! Pull yourself together!'_

Marinette started to panic, realizing she'd turned into a love-struck pile of goo in Adrien's arms and there was seemingly nothing she could do about it. She could barely breathe, let alone move, and she knew all too well what would happen if she tried to open her mouth to speak.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien smiled as he saw Marinette walking ahead of him to the school. He was honestly surprised to see her there early. That may have been the first time ever since he began attending school there.

His smile quickly turned into a scowl as he saw Chloe advancing towards a seemingly oblivious Marinette, wicked smirk breaking out across her face. That couldn't be good. He quickened his pace and tightened his hold on his messenger bag strap. When he was just a few paces away, he saw Chloe's foot kick out to trip up Marinette and before he could even think, he was in a full out run, lunging to catch Marinette in the nick of time.

"Careful Marinette!" he smiled warmly at her, green eyes sparkling.

After half a minute of her deep aquamarine eyes staring hazily at him, his smile began to turn down into a concerned frown, furrowing his brow.

He snapped his attention to Chloe, who seemed momentarily perturbed by his sudden cat-like reflexes.

"Chloe, that was not cool! Marinette could have been hurt! I told you we can't be friends if you refuse to be nice to others!" Adrien said reproachfully.

Chloe looked like she was going to quip something in her typical fashion, but instead rolled her eyes and groaned. "Fine. Anything for you Adrikins!" she fluttered her lashes sweetly at him and puckered her cotton candy pink lips, the words dripping out like overly sweet syrup.

Adrien rolled his eyes back towards Marinette, quickly blushing a rosy pink as he realized he was still holding her and she was still stiff and silent. He propped her upright and looked at her with concern in his eyes, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Marinette? Are you hurt?"

* * *

Marinette finally found her voice.

"Yes! Fine! I'm as fine as your face! I mean the weather! Rain is right? Is your face? Er, fine! Agh!"

Marinette took a deep breath and looked down at her toes. "I'm okay. Thanks Adrien."

She really hoped that heat spreading across her cheeks wasn't as apparent as it felt.

Not a moment too soon, Alya and Nino walked up to greet their friends.

"So, bro, you gonna go to Chloe's party this Saturday? I hear it's gonna be outrageous! Big Daddy Mayor will be away so all of us kitties can play!" Nino winked towards his buddy.

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle proudly at his buddy's unintentional cat pun.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you know how my dad can be."

"Man, can't he ever let you have _any_ fun? I'm guessing he's got you booked with photo shoots all day or something, right?"

"Actually, my photo shoot ends at 4pm and I don't think I've got anything else scheduled for the rest of the day, so maybe he'd be okay with it!" Adrien replied hopefully.

"Alright! Make it happen, man!" Nino goaded.

Off to the side, Alya waved her hand in front of Marinette's face.

"Hello? Earth to Marinette! This is your friend Alya, reporting from Paris, France. Do you copy?"

"He was holding me!" Marinette quietly gushed, hugging her arms to herself, while Alya smiled and rolled her eyes. Man, she had to get these two dum dums together, stat!


	3. Chapter 3

After what seemed like the longest two days ever, Saturday finally arrived and Marinette was staring into her closet deciding what to wear. She knew it needed to make a statement without seeming desperate. She finally settled on a flirty, ruffly pale pink skirt with lots of extra soft layers of fluffy tulle and lace. She paired it with a white cap-sleeved half turtleneck tee with sparkly silver buttons angled down the front. She looked pretty darn good if she said so herself, which she did.

She rushed over to meet Alya out front. When Alya caught sight of her, she let out a low whistle.

"Woo, I love how it turned out!" she said, pointing to Marinette's shirt. "You really are an amazing talent Mari. Now, let's go make sure Adrien knows it, too!" Alya winked as she grabbed a giggling Marinette's hand and pulled her through the familiar gold and glass front doors of the Bourgeois hotel.

A song by Jagged Stone hit Marinette's ears the instant they burst through the doors. She smiled and waved at classmates as she recognized them. She was instantly relieved that there was no sign of Chloe. She really wasn't in the mood to kiss cheeks with her again.

After a few minutes of searching, she realized with a sinking feeling that Adrien wasn't there. Alya read the crestfallen look on her friend's face as Nino came over to join them.

"Hey, my man says his dad has him on lockdown, but he's trying to fashion an escape plan! Don't give up yet!" he winked at Marinette, who was doing her best to hide her obvious disappointment.

She looked out at the familiar faces, dancing and smiling. She wondered why this always happened. She really admired Gabriel Agreste, but didn't he realize he was making people miserable by hiding Adrien away from them? That he was making _her_ miserable? Did he even care that he was probably making his own son miserable? She sighed heavily and let her shoulders slump a bit.

The night progressed with no signs of Adrien and the group of friends eventually ended up in a circle, talking and laughing about jokes from school, Jagged Stone vs. Clara Nightingale, or Kim's impressions of Ms. Mendeleiev, among other silly teenage things.

Nathaniel was absentmindedly spinning his empty juice bottle on the floor next to him when Kim grabbed it. Holding it above his head, he proclaimed "We should play spin the bottle! Right now! That would _really_ make this party interesting!" He grinned widely in Chloe's direction.

She glanced over at him from her position on a counter, boredom plainly on her face, filing her nails. "Hm. This could actually be pretty interesting," she smirked, "but it's my house so we do it by my rules!" she commanded.

"Alright losers, here's the rules!" Chloe slammed her open palms on the counter for emphasis. "We go around the circle, having each person spin the bottle. Everyone has to play. Whoever the bottle neck lands on is who you _must_ kiss. If absolutely necessary, you may refuse to kiss, or they may refuse you, but then you have to take whatever dare the kissee chooses for you. No exceptions!" Chloe smiled smugly, clearly entertained by what could possibly come out of this.

"Sure, those rules are fine, as long as _you_ follow them, too." Alix challenged.

"Tch! Of course I will follow my own rules! Ridiculous. Utterly, ridiculous!" Chloe scoffed, acting overly offended, but turning the corners of her mouth up in just the slightest flicker of a smile. Maybe she would slowly come around after all.

Now that the rules were officially settled upon, the group of friends all situated themselves in a more pronounced circle to begin the game.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Alya asked loudly.

"I'd love to!" Max chirped and everyone looked at him, startled by his boldness.

"What?" he asked bemused. "I love probability and am very anxious to see the direction this game takes us all in!"

Everyone groaned at the mention of anything even remotely related to knowledge and logic.

Kim rolled the empty bottle of Orangina to his best friend and Max took it and placed it pointedly in the middle of the circle. He looked around at everyone sitting in the circle, grinned, suddenly feeling sheepish from all the attention, and gave it a good, firm spin.

The bottle spun fast, fast for a few seconds before it began to slow and finally landed slightly to the right side of Marinette. Her eyes opened wide in shock and she stuttered for a second before Max raised a hand to silence her.

"Fear not, Marinette. I don't plan on actually kissing anyone tonight." He smiled at her. "Instead, I dare you to lift up your shirt and make your stomach talk in a weird voice." he chuckled at her blush instantly deepening to an even more extreme shade of scarlet.

"What?! I can't do that, that's ridiculous!" Marinette spluttered.

Everyone around the circle laughed and Alya playfully gave her a nudge with her elbow. "Oh c'mon girl, that's nothing! It'll be fun!"

Marinette inhaled sharply and closed her eyes tightly, before carrying out the dare.

 _'At least Adrien isn't here to see this,'_ she thought to herself. Still keeping her eyes shut tight, to avoid being further embarrassed by everyone's gazes on her, she did her best Jagged Stone impression while attempting to contort her flat stomach into a talking face.

Immediately everyone began chortling and full out guffawing at her display. To her complete and utter horror, she heard a delightful, melodious laugh that was absolutely the _very last sound_ she wanted to hear in that particular moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Simultaneously, she yanked her shirt down and whipped her eyes open. Sapphire locked onto emerald before she immediately looked away and flushed intensely. She quickly sat back down next to Alya and Nino and pulled her knees to her chest, where she could hide her face and pretend to sink into the floor.

At the sight of Adrien, everyone's laughter was replaced with joyful disbelief.

"DUDE! You made it!" Nino shouted disbelievingly.

"Yeah, my dad actually got called away to some 'fashion emergency' during my photo shoot, so it was just a matter of convincing Natalie that I had a project to work on that's due Monday." Adrien grinned, looking positively pleased with himself.

Marinette chanced a peek to see him sit down beside Nino, on the other side of Alya.

Suddenly, Alya realized something. "Hey wait! The bottle landed on Marinette after Max spun it, so she should have chosen a dare for him!"

Marinette flushed even darker at having been embarassed unjustly. Leave it to her friend's expert reporting skills to conveniently wait until _after_ the most traumatic experience of her life to kick in!

Max shrugged apologetically. "Guess we're still learning the rules."

Rose was sitting next to Max, so it was her turn to spin the bottle next. She looked around at everyone and giggled, before spinning it daintily. It whirred briefly before it settled on Juleka. The girls looked at each other, eyes wide and blinking for a moment, before flashing a small smile and leaning forward to give each other a quick peck on the lips. The boys around the circle cheered and hooted while Chloe distastefully yelled "EW!"

Now that Adrien was here, Chloe was anxious to take her turn. She got up from her perch and joined the circle, shoving herself between Rose and Sabrina and announced that she was spinning next. There was an urgency in her spin, and as it slowly approached Adrien she stood up excitedly, and prepared herself to jump his bones.

"Hey, Chloe, that's between Adrien and Kim." Alix noted with a smirk.

"And actually it's really pointing slightly more towards Kim!" Max added.

"Yes! Pucker up Chloe!" Kim said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ew! No way jockstrap!" she shrieked, turning away.

"Fine then, I guess you want to take my dare instead?" Kim smirked.

"Yes, please!" Chloe said.

"I dare you to kiss me anyways." If it was even possible, Kim's grin grew even wider.

"Ugh! That is so ridiculous! That doesn't count, you can't do that!" Chloe protested, pouting.

"You didn't ever state anything like that in the rules, so you have to take his dare, Chloe!" Max said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah!" "That's right!" everyone started chiming in.

Chloe huffed a little and turned her nose up indignantly.

"Fine!" she barked and leaned forward, grabbing Kim's collar and planting a fast kiss on his lips. Before she could pull quickly away as she intended, Kim grabbed her cheeks in an effort to hold her there longer before she managed to break free, spluttering.

Kim sat back, looking mystified as if he was seeing stars.

Chloe sat back beside Sabrina, looking haughty as ever.

Sabrina took her turn and got Nathaniel. Both seemed shocked and shy about the outcome, but ever so slowly inched closer and landed a quick peck, before both turned away, blushing profusely.

Ivan and Mylene, as if by some silent secret signal, left the circle and went to cuddle on a couch in the darkened hotel lobby, clearly more interested in each other at this point.

Alix spun the bottle for her turn and it landed, once again, on Kim.

"Ew," she said flatly. "Gimme a sweet dare man!"

"Hah! Try and beat me to the top floor of the hotel, using only the stairs!" he jeered playfully.

"Oh you're so on!" Alix cackled.

"There's no way you can beat me up the stairs in your skates!" he could be heard challenging her as their voices faded off into the stairwell. Anything else after that was lost behind the closed door.

Nathaniel took his turn next and the bottle landed on Nino. Both boys snapped their eyes open wide in shock and horror and began jibbering like idiots. Chloe rolled her eyes and commanded Nathaniel to share his darkest secret, which turned out to be that he thought Marinette would make the most perfect Ladybug (to which said girl blushed deeply, and everyone involuntarily released a drawn out 'Awww.' Everyone except Adrien, who was staring intensely at Marinette with new interest).

"Chloe, you aren't really following your own rules," Marinette piped up.

"Oh whatever bread loaf. I just want to keep this game moving! It's getting boring, fast!" the spoiled brat snapped.

Juleka was next, and to everyone's amusement, her spin landed on herself. With mirthful glee, she spun her back to the group and grabbed her sides, moving her hands up and down, so that it appeared she was making out with someone. The circle of friends burst into laughter, Nino and Alya falling against each other for support, Marinette clutching her sides as tears rolled down her face. Suddenly Marinette sobered.

The game had come full circle.

It was her turn again.


	5. Chapter 5

She was suddenly dreading it. Why on earth had they chosen to play **_this_** game? _Why_ had she agreed to it? Her odds of landing on Adrien were slim to none and even if she did land on him, she might be too much of a stuttering mess to follow through, or worse still, he could flat out refuse to kiss her. _'Oh gosh that's probably what would happen. He has said on more than one occasion that I'm just his 'very good friend'.'_

She watched in a confused mixture of horror and hopefulness as the bottle spun slower and slower, preparing to make it's choice. It passed slowly over Alya and then looked like it might, oh gosh is it actually going to land on him?!

Marinette could barely contain her excitement.

But then, much to her chagrin, the bottle decided to stop just short facing Nino.

She paled slightly as she looked up at her best friend's boyfriend. The same boyfriend that had wanted to date herself at one point. Did he still have some feelings for her? Would he want to use the game as an excuse to kiss her?

Without skipping a beat, Nino chuckled lightly and asked Marinette for a dare.

 _'Of course,'_ she thought to herself. _'Why would I think he'd want to kiss me? Especially with Alya sitting right next to him? He's a really good guy.'_ she sighed mentally with relief and started wracking her brain for a good dare.

Alya leaned over and whispered something into Marinette's ear, and her eyes bulged.

"I can't say THAT!" the blue-haired beauty protested.

"Well if you can't, then I will!" her eyes glinted mischievously.

"Nino, Marinette dares you to run around this circle in just your underwear!"

"WHAT?! C'mon babe, you can't be serious?" Nino pleaded with his girlfriend, but she wouldn't relent.

A dejected Nino quickly completed his dare while the remaining circle snickered and hummed sympathetically. Alya gave him a quick, apologetic kiss.

Then she grinned slyly. "Well, since I basically took Marinette's turn for her, Adrien, why don't you spin?"

Adrien could feel a few beads of sweat pour down his forehead. He was pretty sure he understood how the game worked from watching his friends for the past half hour, but since he had never actually played before, let alone kiss anyone, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Okay, _really_ nervous. Was this _really_ how he wanted to have his first kiss? And what if the bottle landed on Chloe? He certainly didn't want his first kiss to be _her_. Come to think of it, he didn't want _any_ of his kisses to be with her, ever. Period. He grabbed the bottle and gave it a quick, adroit spin. It whirled quickly round and around, and Chloe's eyes got wider and wider with each turn. She wasn't the only girl intensely watching the bottle, either. Alya and Marinette both were glued to the gyrating glass. After what felt like ages, the bottle finally began to slow it's rotation. One by one it passed over Max, Rose, Chloe, Sabrina, Nathaniel, and Juleka, until softly coming to a stop dead center in front of Marinette.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien was ecstatic. If there was anyone at that party that he had any desire to kiss, it was her. She'd really started to grow on him these past few months. And since Ladybug had made it so crystal clear that she was not interested in him in the least bit, he thought Marinette was a perfect alternative. She was sweet, kind, caring, smart, talented and just all around amazing. He only hoped she'd actually want to kiss him, too.

He was pretty clueless about these things, but the more time they spent together, the more he was getting an inkling that maybe her shyness was because she was crushing on him. Especially with the recent event of all his fans snapping pictures of them and labeling them boyfriend and girlfriend. Or could it be he was just letting Cat Noir's ego get to his head and she actually still didn't trust him from the whole gum incident? But he quickly brushed that aside. There was no way that still bothered her. They were friends. _Good_ friends. But maybe kissing her now would ruin all that.

He trained his glorious green eyes on her and flashed her his warmest smile, kind of testing the waters. Even in her extremely startled state, he was struck by how beautiful she actually was. He hadn't ever really noticed before. The intense blue of her eyes was amplified by the dim lamplight of the room, and he felt like he could get lost in them. There was something so incredibly familiar there, but he just couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Marinette, on the other hand, was afraid her brain had short-circuited. She had to be dreaming. There was no way Adrien's spin had actually landed on her. Although if she was dreaming, why was she acting so like her usual, dumbstruck self? And why did it sound like some horrible wasp was buzzing angrily in her ear? What _was_ that sound?

* * *

She was shaken from her reverie by Chloe making the most unattractive squawking sound she'd ever heard.

"No way! Not under MY roof! In MY Daddy's hotel! There is NO WAY I am ever letting you kiss MY Adrikins, Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Chloe screeched, pointing an accusatory finger in Marinette's face.

Marinette just gaped at her, but Adrien quickly came to her rescue.

"As I understand it Chloe, you chose the rules, and the rules state that you have to kiss whomever the bottle lands on, correct? You wouldn't want to change your own rules now, would you?"

Chloe made another horrible, growling sound and stormed out of the room, yelling something about how she shouldn't have to put up with this and what sounded like something else about Marinette and Adrien always hooking up in her hotel right under her nose to make her jealous or some other nonsense.

Everyone else's eyes widened as they silently urged Adrien and Marinette to kiss. They'd only been two years for these two knuckle heads to finally get together. Even Ivan and Mylene had come back to the circle after Chloe's little outburst.

But for Adrien and Marinette, it was as if everyone else had vanished.

It was only the two of them.

Blue staring into green staring into blue.


	7. Chapter 7

They inched towards each other, ever so slowly, closer and closer until they were just inches away from one another. Marinette could feel Adrien's sweet breath dance across her face and was so thankful she'd had the foresight to ingest a couple of breath mints before the game started.

She lost herself in those emerald eyes. She thought she could just stay like that forever. She flinched ever so slightly, startled by his warm hand coming up to rest gently on her cheek. He closed the distance between the two of them and her eyes fluttered shut as his lips softly pressed into hers. Sweet and gentle. Just like him. Despite the tenderness of the kiss, a spark electrocuted between them and lit up a memory in the back of her mind like a billboard on the highway.

This kiss felt acutely familiar, but she could not fathom why. This was her first time kissing anyone, save the one time she'd had to kiss Cat Noir to break him free of Dark Cupid's control, but that totally didn't count. Except it was the only other kiss she'd shared with someone. And she simply could not ignore the similarities. His lips felt exactly the same as Cat Noir's.

Here she was, finally kissing her crush after two years of longing and wishing and dreaming and hoping, and all she could think about was that stupid Cat!

Adrien finally broke away from the kiss, and pulled back to look her in the eyes again.

"Wow." It was barely a whisper, but she just caught it before everyone in the circle around them erupted into cheers. She blushed profusely, suddenly remembering that they had an audience for their first kiss.

" _Dude_ , it's about _time_!" Nino cheered.

"Get it, girl!" Alya chimed in.

"Oh yeah Marinette!" Alix, who had apparently arrived back with Kim just in time to see their kiss, punched the air in approval.

Everyone was beaming at them, which only made Marinette all the more embarassed. She felt like her flush was covering her head to toe and would consume her any minute. She jumped as she felt a hand grasp hers. She turned to see Adrien holding her hand. He slowly brought it to his lips, never taking his eyes off hers. "Thank you, milady." He breathed.

The air immediately vacated her lungs. She was completely shell shocked. The whole motion was so incredibly Cat-like that she could _not_ ignore it. Now that she really thought about it, Adrien and Cat Noir really did look _a lot_ alike.

Now was _really_ not the time to be thinking about this. She was probably just tired and stunned from finally kissing her crush. It was getting pretty late and there were a lot of emotions swirling about her head. She knew she needed to sleep on this and it would all just be a big coincidence come tomorrow morning. Everything would make sense after a good night's rest.

She gave Adrien the most sincere smile she could muster given the current events, and did a small curtsy.

 _'Wow, she really is pretty adorable.'_ Adrien thought to himself. He'd never kissed anyone before, and he was wondering why he hadn't done it sooner. His kiss with Marinette was absolutely incredible. Even though it was a soft, gentle caress, his entire body had come alive with electricity and he hadn't wanted to let her go. He could only imagine what it would be like to go even further. When he felt the pressure start to lighten he pulled away from the kiss so as not to overdo it, but he hungered for more. He really hoped his eyes didn't look too desperate.

An audible crack rang out through the lobby, causing Adrien and Marinette to jump apart.

The wall of the stairwell burst apart and a very frightening, black and yellow spidery creature stepped out from the dust and rubble. It very closely resembled a black widow spider with a yellow hourglass and a very familiar human face.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I'm going to KILL you!" It shrieked in a very familiar voice.

"Chloe?!" Adrien and Marinette both spluttered.

"Oh no. Chloe's not here anymore! You can call me Black Widow!" the hideous creature spat, before rushing towards them.

"Marinette, look out!" Adrien yelled as he shoved her aside. Chloe halted to a stop. He had a strong feeling that Chloe wouldn't dare hurt him. He helped Marinette to her feet and looked at her very deliberately. "You have to get out of here now. I'll distract her."

"But what about-" Adrien quickly cut her off.

"I mean it, go, NOW!" And he gave her a forceful but careful shove towards the hotel exit, which again, struck her as being _so very_ Cat-like. But now was _so_ not the time!

Speaking of which, where was that mangy Cat anyways?

She knew she needed to transform to protect Adrien and the rest of her friends, so without another moment's hesitation, she ran as fast as she possibly could. She hated leaving Adrien there, but she had a hunch Chloe wouldn't dare hurt her precious Adrikins.

As soon as she got outside the hotel, she rounded the corner into a narrow alley and opened her purse, yelling her signature "Tikki, spots on!"

A bright red flash later, she was decked out in red and black and rushing back inside the building to save Adrien.

All the other students were fleeing or hiding under tables and couches.

"Everyone get to safety! I'll handle it from here!" Ladybug said in a calm and commanding voice. Everybody quickly complied, save Alya who was of course recording the battle for her Ladyblog at an alarmingly close range.

"Alya, I mean it, you too! I could never forgive myself if something happened to you!" As Ladybug stepped up to her, she pressed a small black box into Alya's hand. She quickly spoke her next words in a hushed tone. "I don't know what's taking Cat so long, but I'm starting to get the feeling he's not going to make it this time. I could really use your help."

Alya immediately knew what she meant and switched off her recording. After stowing away in a custodial closet, Rena Rouge emerged moments later in her place.

"Hey Rena, glad you could join me!" she quipped, as if she hadn't seen her in a while.

Creepy Giant Spider Chloe was starting to weave a web around Adrien, muttering to herself that she'd never let filthy little baker's daughters get near her sweet Adrikins ever again.

'Why did she have to turn into a giant spider?" Ladybug groaned.

"Afraid of spiders, huh?" Rena commiserated. "Don't worry, I think I've got a plan!"

Rena Rouge whipped out her flute and began to play. "Mirage!" she shouted, pointing it behind Chloe-spider, where a perfect replica of Marinette appeared.

"Hey Chlo-nasty, over here!" the mirrored Marinette shouted.

Chloe paused her weaving, hissing and turning towards the mirage. "I'm going to crush you, little worm!"

As she started towards the illusion, Rena noticed that one of her spidery hands was clutching something.

"Ladybug! That left claw! It's holding something, it's got to be the akuma! It looks like a...soda bottle?" she said confused, before quickly realizing it must be the bottle from the game.

"Thanks Rena, I'm on it!" Ladybug shouted as she dashed after the spider. She was struggling to figure out how to get the akuma from the nasty, creepy spider hand clutching it. _'Oh man how can I do this? I could really use Cat Noir right about now.'_ She glanced back at Adrien, who was struggling ferociously to try and break free of the sticky webs.

 _'It seems I'm going to have to make do without him'_ she thought to herself. Realizing she was quite out of options, she threw her yo-yo into the air with a deafening "Lucky charm!"

A small red and black handheld bug zapper fell into her hands.

"Seriously? What on earth am I supposed to do with THIS tiny thing?"

Ladybug quickly searched all around her. Through the black and white, her yo-yo, the zapper, and the stairs railing all lit up and she knew exactly what she needed to do.

Spider-Chloe had just started to chase illusion Marinette up the stairs.

Ladybug followed them into the stairwell and deftly slung her yo-yo around Chloe and the railings, then zapped the wire with the bug zapper. The yo-yo string acted as a sort of lightning-rod which amplified the shock, effectively frying Chloe. She released her clutch on the bottle which shattered on the concrete floor, releasing a black and purple butterfly. Ladybug quickly caught it in her yo-yo with a very relieved "Gotcha!"

She swung it around and yelled "Time to de-evilize!" As the now-purified white butterfly flew into the sky she waved and whispered "Bye bye little butterfly!"

And with a "Miraculous Ladybug!" she threw the zapper into the air and millions of ladybugs flew out, magically repairing the damage as they always did. Chloe returned to normal and looked around confused, with tear stains on her cheeks. It was evident that she'd been crying before she was akumatized. Ladybug felt a slight twinge of shame.

She quickly rushed back into the lobby to check on Adrien. He was not sitting on the floor where he'd been tied up moments ago, like she had expected to find him. She started to panic, but the urgent beeping of her earrings reminded her she needed to get somewhere private. Just then, Alya yanked her into the supply closet, pressed the fox miraculous into her hand, and jolted out the door, yanking it shut tight behind her. Marinette was so relieved she had such a great friend. She really had made the right choice giving the fox miraculous to Alya.

"Tikki, spots off." After making sure that Tikki was eating to regain her strength, Marinette cracked the door the slightest bit to see if the coast was clear. When she confirmed that the lobby was indeed completely vacant, she slipped out and immediately ran off in search of Adrien and the others. She finally found everyone gathered around Chloe in the stairwell. She overheard Adrien asking in a panic-stricken voice if anyone had seen Marinette. At the sound of the door clicking closed, he turned around and his eyes registered on her. Relief washed over his face and he rushed forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I was so worried about you," he breathed into her neck as he buried his face there. Silly Marinette could only squeak in reply. He quickly pulled away and apologized, holding her at arms length and rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. She smiled awkwardly back before kneeling down beside Chloe.

"Hey. I'm really sorry this upset you so much. I didn't even really want to play this game, and I understand if you don't want to associate with me outside of school ever again." Marinette held her hand out to help Chloe up.

Chloe glared at it for a moment, before reluctantly taking it and allowing herself to be pulled up. "It's a stupid game anyways, and it's not like one _forced_ kiss is going to make Adrien fall in love with you. Besides, **I** kiss him _every day_!" she added huffily, while Adrien just shook his head slightly.

Chloe was quite mistaken. That kiss _was_ making him fall for Marinette. _Hard._

* * *

When Marinette finally got home, she flopped onto her bed, expecting to fall immediately asleep from sheer exhaustion. Without a word, Tikki had nestled abruptly onto the pillow beside her head and passed right out without so much as a good night, a sure sign that she was truly drained.

But instead, the memory of her kiss with Adrien came protruding into her thoughts. Only in her mind's eye, he was wearing a black mask and cat ears.

* * *

AN: So this is all I have written over the past few days, but fear not, this is still a WIP! I've still got a bit more planned for this story!

I seriously cannot believe that I've already gotten almost 200 views and 5 followers to this story just in the first hour of it being posted! And from 14 different countries! That is seriously so cool! Thanks for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed these first seven chapters and will continue to read as I post more! Please please let me know if you have any concrit to offer me since I'm just a newbie, I'm sure I'm bound to make mistakes!


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien had a rough time falling asleep that night. He was struggling to make heads or tails of all the emotions coarsing through his veins.

Firstly, he felt immense guilt for not being able to become Cat Noir to aid his Lady. He knew she suffered from a crippling fear of spiders and was so proud of her being able to vanquish the akuma without him, but wished he'd been able to help so she didn't need to do it alone. Well, sure she had Rena's help, but without _him_.

Secondly, he felt something he couldn't quite describe, that was like his heart would burst from his chest any time he thought about his kiss with Marinette. It had been amazing, just like her. There was no doubt in his mind that his friend was incredibly wonderful and special. But he was still in love with Ladybug. Which was the very reason for the third obvious emotion he was feeling at that moment.

Confusion.

How could he be in love with Ladybug and be having these feelings for Marinette? What _were_ these feelings he was having for Marinette? He wished he could make sense of it all. His brain felt groggy, like it was an engine running low on gas, slowly grinding to a halt.

"Ugh why does this all have to be so hard?" he exasperated.

"Why do you have to be so annoying?" Plagg whined. "Can't a well-deserving kwami take a cat nap here?"

"Why are you always so bereft of compassion?" Adrien almost whined.

"Because I'm so tired of listening to my Chosens mooning over their Ladybug!" Plagg _did_ whine.

Adrien made an annoyed sound in his throat but refrained from speaking anymore. Not like his kwami was ever much use anyways. He just liked having someone to talk to.

He continued to stare around his darkened room for some time, eventually drifting off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Marinette felt awful when she awoke the following morning. Despite sleeping in until 11:30, she still felt as though she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. She probably hadn't. She recalled glancing at the clock time after time, running through similarities of Cat and Adrien in her head, until it became so maddening that she had to move to her desk to compile a list to straighten things out.

Said list contained all the similarities and differences she could come up with between the two.

Similarities:

1\. Blonde hair

2\. Green eyes

3\. Gorgeous smile

4\. Similar ring worn on the same finger

5\. Strong desire to help other people

6\. Dependable

7\. Brave

8\. A very good friend

9\. Identical lips = same kiss!

Differences:

1\. Cat Noir is a smooth talker, Adrien is a sweet talker.

2\. C.N. has an annoying love of puns.

Truth be told, she couldn't really think of many concrete differences between the two. The two she had written down seemed like she was grasping at straws. It was easy to change your attitude to conceal your identity. Heck, she did it every day as Ladybug. She never had Ladybug's confidence as Marinette. Maybe it was the same with Adrien and Cat?

The fact that she had never actually seen Adrien and Cat Noir together at the same time during an akuma attack, and that Adrien always made excuses to disappear whenever one showed up, just like she did, made it hard for her to believe she hadn't made the connection before.

She needed to come up with a plan to confirm her suspicions without Cat-Adrien knowing what she was up to.

While she was working on her chart, she eventually fell asleep with her head on her desk. She woke up some time later with a throbbing neck and dragged herself to her bed, where she awoke later that morning.

She stretched and crawled out of bed and glanced back over her scribblings on the desk. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she made her way downstairs for some breakfast. As she sat eating and scheming while her mother flitted around the kitchen, a plan slowly came together in her mind. She knew exactly how she was going to confirm her suspicions. She smirked and rushed through the rest of her meal, before racing back upstairs.

It was Saturday, so she would have patrol with Cat Noir that night, and it would be the perfect opportunity to test her theory.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Tikki questioned after Marinette had relayed the plan to her kwami.

"Of course I am! I have to know Tikki, it will be the death of me if I don't figure this out!" She was always so dramatic about anything Adrien related.

"Fine. I trust your judgement," Tikki said cheerily, knowing full well that Marinette was right.

After finding out that Adrien was Cat Noir during their battle against Dark Owl, it was incredibly difficult for Tikki not to say anything to Marinette about it. She almost wished she hadn't stopped Plagg from speaking when it happened. Then she at least wouldn't have had to keep this secret for so long. She would definitely be relieved when they could speak freely about it.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Marinette was eager to begin patrol that night. She landed gracefully on the eiffel tower fifteen minutes before their scheduled meeting time. She paced nervously as she awaited Cat-Adrien's arrival.

Noiselessly, he appeared beside her. She jumped, startled, and kicked out in self-defense.

He caught her leg and gave her a wide Cat grin.

"Whoa, someone seems a little _cat_ tled this evening!"

Ladynette rolled her eyes with extreme effort. Now that she was fairly certain it was Adrien under that mask, his cat puns suddenly seemed a lot more entertaining, especially one as terrible as that.

"You just surprised me, that's all. I was lost in thought," she murmured.

"Oh, lost in thought about _mewrs_ truly?" he grinned, placing his hand on his chest.

Ladybug was staring at him with a far-off expression, seeming as if she was looking through him rather than at him. She drew closer, a strange smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

It brought his attention to her lips and he absent-mindedly licked his.

She placed her hand over his that still rested on his chest and gazed up into his eyes.

His breath hitched in his throat at her sudden closeness.

"Uh...Ladybug?" he whispered.

"Cat, would you let me kiss you?" The question took him completely by surprise. Thousands of fireworks erupted in his chest. He'd been longing for this moment for over two years. He couldn't wait to press his lips to hers.

But curiosity got the better of him and he had to know why.

"Why now? What's changed?" he looked deeply into those beautiful blue pools before him, searching for an answer.

"If you let me kiss you, I'll explain everything afterwards Kitty, I promise." Ladybug said coyly. She could tell he was still apprehensive, so she added "You have my word, as your partner."

For some reason, the way she said the word partner tonight, standing this close, under the full moon, atop the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by the glow of the street lights in the city of love, sounded so much more intimate and personal than usual. She had called him her partner on so many occasions before, but tonight it seemed to hold some unspoken promise.

His gaze once again drifted downward to her glistening pink lips. They looked so soft and delicate, like the tender undersides of a rose petal. He could practically taste them already. He could resist her no longer.

He raised his right hand to her cheek and she jumped at his touch, eyes widening.

Recognition flickered across moonlit orbs of blue and green.

Then eyes shut tight as lips pressed together.

Marinette's senses came alive. She couldn't believe she was kissing her crush for the second night in a row. All doubts were gone. She now knew with absolute certainty that her loyal partner had been the love of her life this whole time.

And she couldn't feel more torn by this epiphany.

What would Adrien think once he found out Ladybug was just _her_? She knew how much Cat Noir, _Adrien_ , loved and admired Ladybug. How would he feel when he learned that his beloved heroine had been stuttering, bumbling, plain Marinette all along?

Cat Adrien's arms wrapped tighter around her, deepening the kiss and effectively wiping all thoughts from her mind. She became lost in his embrace; she never before knew that word, lost, could hold a positive connotation. She felt she could stay there forever. Her skin tingled as if it were alive with thousands of tiny ladybugs. Thousands more were fluttering around inside her stomach.

Despite the cool breeze ruffling her hair, she couldn't help but feel immense warmth radiating from her chest. She wanted this, wanted him, wanted this moment, to be hers forever.

But all good things must come to an end. They had to take this next step sooner or later, and Marinette was eager to get it over with. She pulled her lips away from his.

"I knew it was you," she breathed softly.

Her sapphire eyes chanced a glance up at his emeralds. He was staring into her eyes, searching for an explanation. His brow furrowed as he seemed to be fighting an internal battle.

"I feel like I've kissed you before, but...I've only ever kissed..." Cat trailed off as tears started to well at the bottoms of Ladybug's eyes.

"Marinette?" Adrien whispered softly, still searching her eyes.

Did he sound hopeful? Or was that her imagination?

They continued to stare at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity.

Marinette had never been more scared in her life. Not even fighting off akuma after akuma to save her city. She was paralyzed with fear.

There was a brilliant flash of light and suddenly there was Adrien, standing before her, looking incredibly vulnerable.

Marinette briefly noticed a small black cat-like creature hovering beside him that could only be his kwami.

And yet she still stood there. Frozen.

"Milady, please. Are you Marinette? I have to know! Please say something, anything!"

After another few moments of silence, Ladybug was finally able to manage a tearful "I can't. I'm sorry!"

She turned on her heel, preparing to sling her yo-yo to launch herself through the night sky. But she felt Adrien's hand wrap tightly, desperately, around her wrist. She turned to face him and saw the pained look of anguish in his eyes and knew she couldn't leave him. Not like this. Not anymore.

She relaxed her stance and let her yo-yo hand fall to her side. She slowly turned to face him again and silently muttered "spots off."

She closed her eyes as she detransformed, not wanting to see Adrien's features shift to disappointment, as she knew they surely would.

Mere seconds after her suit fell away, she felt his arms tightly wrapping around her and her eyes shot open in complete shock.

"Thank you! I thought it was you but I needed to know for sure."

Marinette was too stunned to reply. She couldn't believe that he seemed _happy_ to know that she was Ladybug. This made no sense. After a few failed attempts of mere releases of air from between her lips, she finally managed to choke out the words. "Aren't-aren't you d-disappointed?"

Now it was Adrien's turn to be astounded. His mouth fell open. "How could I be _disappointed_?"

"Because you love Ladybug so much and I'm j-just me. I'm a total wreck, I can b-barely speak around you, I'm a huge klutz, I'm just plain and-and-"

"Marinette!" he practically yelled, causing her to stop midsentence and stare at him, mouth agape.

"How could you think so little of yourself? You're amazing! You're smart, talented, brave..beautiful." He blushed slightly and added "You're my _best friend_. Do you really think I'd choose someone that was anything short of miraculous to be my best friend?"

"But you were never in love with me!" she cried doubtfully, almost bitterly. "You were in love with Ladybug and-"

Adrien cut her off again "I'm in love with you _and_ Ladybug. I was starting to develop feelings for you before tonight and knowing that you and her are one in the same only _intensifies_ my devotion for you."

Marinette's breath caught in her lungs. "Oh," she mouthed wordlessly, leaving her mouth in that cute little o shape he loved so much.

He was dying to kiss those lips again.

Marinette was beginning to feel dizzy. This was a lot of information to process. She thought finding out Adrien was Cat Noir would be the biggest shock of her life. But she was very wrong. Finding out that he had fallen for Marinette, too, was like a nuclear war head had just been dropped on her.

She stood, stunned, for what felt like an eternity. Adrien shifted uncomfortably on his feet before finally taking a step towards her, closing the gap between them. His sudden closeness made the breath catch in her lungs again.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a _very_ long time. Can we hurry past this awkward phase so that I can finally spend every second with you, holding you safely in my arms where you belong?"

Marinette could only manage a small nod, but that was enough for Adrien. He gathered her up into a ginormous hug, nuzzled into her hair and swore to himself that he was never letting her go again.


	10. Chapter 10

Although he wanted to stay that way forever, curiosity got the better of this cat again and he just had to ask her something else.

"You weren't...disappointed when you realized it was _me_ , were you?"

She blinked once. Twice. Thrice. "Are you kidding me?! Adrien Agreste, I've been in love with you since day one, when you gave me your umbrella and showed me who you truly are! Why on Earth do you think I always get so tongue-tied around you?!"

"You don't sound very tongue-tied right now," he said pointedly.

"Yeah? Well! Making...angry...you...just...urgh!" Marinette threw her hands up in the air in frustration, once again unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Tikki, spots on," she muttered, almost to herself.

Once transformed, she found her voice. Strong and confident and true.  
Adrien thought he could listen to her speak forever and never tire of it.

"I still just can't believe you were right here, all along. That I kept rejecting you as Cat Noir because I am madly in love with Adrien! How ridiculous can a situation be before it just surpasses all logic and reason?!" She looked absolutely shell-shocked and Adrien suddenly felt terrible for making her feel that way.

"Hey, take comfort in the fact that you figured it out before me! Who knows how long we'd have been left in the dark if it weren't for your expert detective skills!" Adrien said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Well, I can't let my kitty think he's more clever than me, now can I?" she teased.

Adrien gently grabbed her hand and pulled her knuckles to his lips. "I could never compare to your far superior intellect, m'lady." His green eyes shone up at her and Marinette felt like she was losing herself in the best kind of dream.

She gripped his hand and pulled him towards her, until their chests were flush against one another, never taking her eyes off his. Her breath hitched at the pressure of his chest against hers. She could feel warmth radiating from his heart outward, washing over her.

"Are you really madly in love with me?" he whispered, hopeful, desperate.

"Silly cat. Isn't it obvious?" she looked at him with a rapturous love that was so disarming, his throat tightened with emotion and he feared he would no longer be able to speak.

"Is it okay that I want to kiss you all over?" he rasped out. His intense gaze seemed to burn straight to her soul.

She nodded. "Is it okay that I want you to?"

"Nothing has ever had me _feline_ more excited," he purred and she rolled her eyes and giggled. It was easily the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

"Why did you put the mask back on? Surely you can talk to me now that you know I'm Cat Noir, too. You talk to me so effortlessly when I'm Cat!"

"True, but knowing you're one in the same is something I'm still digesting. The mask helps boost my confidence so I can talk to you without stuttering. In time, with practice, I'm sure it will be easier for Marinette to talk to you, too." Ladybug smiled sadly.

"I think I know a way to help you relax." Ladybug crooked an eyebrow at him in curious disbelief.

"Hey, what's with that look? I'm not _kitten_!"

At that, Ladybug elicited a groan. "Okay, if the way you're thinking is more puns, it's never going to work! I don't like those as Marinette _or_ Ladybug!"

"You love my puns, and you know it!" he grinned Cattishly. "But I actually had something a little more _intimate_ in mind," Adrien said with what Marinette could only categorize as a hint of smolder. Something she couldn't quite decipher burned deeply below her navel. Did the breeze suddenly stop? because it was feeling much warmer out and heating up with every passing second.

She swallowed nervously. "I th-think we'd probably better get out of this evening heat," she stammered out, and Adrien smirked at the effect he was having on her, even beneath the mask. "We could go to my place," he suggested. "My dad is on a business trip and Natalie would be deep asleep by now."

The implications of this invitation did not escape Marinette.

She felt a blush creep up her cheeks under her mask, and she turned towards Adrien's house and darted off into the night to hide her emotions, without waiting for him to transform. He laughed and quickly became Cat Noir, catching up with her in no time.

He grabbed her hand and held it the entire way to his house. His heart thrilled at the contact, even with the barrier of spandex and leather between them. He was so insanely happy he thought he could die then and there. Then he thought about how odd that expression was. He never wanted to die for that meant no longer being at Ladybug's side. He never wanted that day to come.

They finally reached the dark Agreste estate and Adrien slipped silently, seamlessly through the open window, with Ladybug right behind him.

They made their way over to his couch, where they both dropped transformation and sat down.

"Where's the camembert?" Plagg asked irritably.

"Don't be silly, Plagg, you know exactly where it is." Adrien quipped.

"Yeah, but that isn't enough to make up for all this mushy stuff you're forcing me to be party to!" Plagg argued.

"Sorry, Plagg, it's all I have right now, but I'll be sure to order you something special in the morning." Adrien promised in an attempt to pacify the kwami.

"Here Plagg, you can share some of my cookies!" Tikki offered, but Plagg simply shook his head.

"No thanks, Tik. You know you're the sweetest thing I can bear," Plagg said as he leaned forward and nuzzled Tikki's forehead affectionately.

"Hmph. Now who's acting all mushy and lovey-dovey?" Adrien grinned.

"Oh please, this is nothing compared to you, lover boy! Tikki and I will be in the loft if you need us!" the little cat turned to leave, then, under his breath, just loud enough to hear, he added "Please don't need us," and with a final wave from Tikki, the kwamis flew to the loft, leaving the pair of adolescents alone on the couch with their burning feelings.

* * *

Marinette sat rigidly on the couch, doing her best to quell her feverish heartbeat.

'Omigoshomigoshomigosh! We're alone in Adrien Agreste's room! In the dark! What am I supposed to do now? This is too much, too soon! I can't handle this! But I so want to, I've dreamed of this forever! If I freak out now I'll totally push him away and he'll see me as this loser weirdo and avoid me forever! AGHHH!' Marinette's face scrunched up as she fought with her internal struggle. At her side, she can feel Adrien stiffen with worry.

"Marinette? Is everything alright? If this is too much, I can turn the lights on or.."

"NO! D-don't, please. I'm f-fine. I think the dark actually helps control my stutter since I can't see you clearly." She was surprised to find this was actually true. "So! What sort of things did you have in mind to help me relax?" she asked tentatively.

She could feel him slide closer to her, his breath hot on her pale skin.

"Something like this," he whispered seductively, and leaned in to press his lips softly to her neck. Her body went completely rigid and she began to panic. ' _This was supposed to help me relax? Is he nuts_?!'

He moved in a path up her neck, feeling her stiff posture relax slighty with every kiss. He worked his way up underneath her chin, tracing his lips along her jawline and nibbling gently on her ear. He released a low purr that startled them both.

"Um, sorry! Apparently that's a side effect of being Cat Noir," he chuckled softly.

"It's okay, kitty. I like it," she said, her voice breathy with desire.

This thrilled him, and he set back to work, determined to kiss every each of her as he had asked earlier. However, Marinette was growing impatient. How long was he going to tease her? Finally, she grabbed his face in her hands and pulled his mouth to meet hers. Sparks exploded in the darkness. She was on fire. His hands found the edges of her cap sleeves and pushed them up, rubbing along her bare shoulders. They began kissing with such intensity, it was as though the past two years of longing, pining for one another was pouring out of them like water rushing through a broken dam.

All of her walls were down now and Marinette needed more. She pressed her tongue to his lips, seeking entry, and he eagerly let her in. Their tongues danced together and darted around each other as they explored every inch of each other's mouths. He tasted sweet, like mint and sugar, and Marinette felt the burning in her belly again, like a fire roaring too big for it's stone pit, yearning to escape and spread wildly.

She pressed her hands to his shoulders and pushed him back onto the couch. As she continued to kiss him, her body seemed to shift into auto pilot and move on its own. Her hips began to grind against him as the desire now flared full force within her. His hands slowly slid down her back and sides, finding a place to rest on her hips at the edge of her shirt hem. He toyed with it and lifted it slightly, caressing her bare skin. She laced her fingers through his soft golden locks and breathed in his sweet mint taste.

"Marinette..." he growled. His voice was raspier, deeper. The sound of it drove her crazy. She tugged gently on his hair and licked his lips.

"Marinette, don't you think...we...maybe...slow down..." he managed to breathe out. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. The second to last thing he wanted to do was stop.

"I don't want to stop, Adrien. I've been fantasizing about this for two years. I just, do you, um...do you have, you know..."Marinette was glad for the darkness of the room then so he couldn't see her nervous blush.

"Oh, right! Of course, let me just..." Adrien got up and felt his way around in the dark, tripping over something. Marinette snorted and giggled and Adrien joined in.

"You know, I think I'd rather not rush this and wait until the moment is more special. I want it to be perfect. Because you're worth it."

Marinette's heart swelled with love and pride at this gentlemanly gesture. The thick desire in the air had eased up a bit when they laughed over his tripping incident and she was starting to second guess all of this. She was relieved that he was, too.

She took him by the hand and pulled him onto his bed. She snuggled up into him and laced her fingers through his.

"I'm so glad it was you."

"The feeling is mutual. I'm also glad this seems to have helped with your stutter afterall." She could feel him smiling against the back of her neck. She suddenly felt very tired. Why did it hit her so suddenly like this? She thought vaguely about needing to get home, before her thoughts became fuzzy and she was no longer thinking at all. Adrien's breath against her neck had become a mere whisper across her skin.

* * *

"Marinette! Wake up! You have to get back home!"

Marinette tried to brush the dream away. It was annoying her, she just wanted to keep sleeping and dreaming of Adrien.

"Marinette! Please, get up! Marinette!"

Marinette registered Tikki's voice. She sounded distressed. She sat bolt upright as her instincts kicked in. The room was dimly lit. It had to be around five in the morning. And this wasn't her room. Where was she? What was happening?

She glanced around and realized she was in Adrien's room. Was she still dreaming? She felt movement at her hip and looked down upon Adrien's soft features. His breathing was soft, she could tell he was deep asleep.

Her heart skipped a beat as she realized it wasn't a dream, the previous evening's events rushing back to her. She smiled down at him, marvelling at how handsome he was, even when he was sleeping. She brushed her lips against his forehead, resting there for a moment longer than necessary. Her heart longed to stay. She checked the clock on her phone. 4:57am. Her dad would already be up doing the days' baking. She definitely had to get back before her parents decided to check up on her.

"Tikki, spots on!" she whispered, so as not to wake Adrien.

She stared over at him longingly. She _really_ hated to leave.

"Don't worry." The voice in her ear nearly made her jump out of her skin. She turned to see Plagg floating behind her.

"I'll tell the kid what happened." He stared at her knowingly with his big green eyes.

"Thanks, Plagg. It was nice to meet you!"

With one last wistful look at Adrien's sleeping face, she launched herself out the window with her yo-yo and sped off to her house. She opened the hatch on her balcony and landed gracefully in her bed, dropping transformation and falling almost instantly back to sleep.

Tom glanced into the room at his sleeping daughter. She was laying with her feet on her pillows and head nearly hanging off the end of her bed, but there was a smile on her face. He twinkled and shut the door gently behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while! My maternal grandmother passed away a couple weeks ago and I had to travel across the country to attend her funeral and I was just suffering from writer's block and general lack of time. Hopefully this new chapter was worth the wait! Enjoy!**

* * *

Adrien woke with a start. He looked frantically around the too empty room. Plagg was sleeping in his usual spot on his pillow. There was no sign that any one else had been there. Had it all just been a dream? It _was_ too perfect for Marinette to be Ladybug. Too easy. There was _no way_ last night really happened. It MUST have been a dream. The best dream _ever_. Adrien fell back onto his pillow with a soft thud. Plagg gave a sound of annoyance and Adrien sighed loudly. When Plagg didn't react, he sighed louder. Again, there was no response. Adrien forced out the whiniest, most dramatic sigh he could muster. Plagg whipped his big eyes open and glared directly at Adrien.

"Would you knock it off, kid? I'm trying to sleep in here!"

"But Plaaaagggg!" Adrien whined some more.

"This is about last night, isn't it?" Plagg asked, giving him a sideways glance.

Adrien's eyes lit up at his words. "So it really did happen?!" he asked excitedly.

Plagg's eyes slanted slightly as a dastardly thought entered his mind. "Oh yeah, it happened alright," he said ominously.

"Uh...wait...w-what happened?" Adrien asked warily.

"Well, I guess your 'Lady' wasn't too happy with you being Cat Noir, but didn't want to hurt your feelings, because she pretended everything was fine and dandy, but as soon as you drifted off to sleep, she called upon her Miraculous and bolted outta here like the building was coming down!" Plagg smirked.

Adrien's eyes bugged out. "WHAT?! Plagg! Why wouldn't you have said something soonner! This is terrible! I've ruined everything! I never wanted to compromise our friendship! I should have just left things the way they were and not pressured her into revealing our identities. I'm such an idiot!"

Plagg's peals of laughter broke through Adrien's self-depricating monologue and he turned to him with a start. "How on Earth could you be laughing about this?! I'm seriously distraught Plagg!"

"I know! I never expected it to work this well! AHAHAHAHA! This is just too perfect!" Plagg broke down into another fit of boisterous laughter.

Adrien glared and grabbed the kwami up into his fist. "Plagg, you better explain yourself right now or we'll see just how far you can fly out the window!"

Plagg's eyes bulged open in surprise. "Alright, alright! I was only messing with you! Sheesh! Take it easy with the defenestration threats, will ya?" he waved his hands pleadingly in front of his face.

"Tell me what really happened! NOW!"

"She just had to leave early to avoid getting caught by her parents. You two totally snuggled all night and it was absolutely sickening. She really didn't want to leave but had to so she wouldn't get caught. Can I please go back to sleep now?"

"Not a chance! I can't wait another second to see her again, there's so much to talk about!"

"Are you serious? You literally just woke up. Besides, won't your dad notice if you disappear first thing in the morning?"

"Nope. He's gone for design meetings all day and I have nothing on the schedule. Plagg, claws out!"

"Aw, c'mon!" Plagg complained one last time as he was sucked into the ring.

* * *

Marinette stretched as she felt the warm rays of the sun fall through her open skylight. She smiled. The sunshine felt nice. That was odd, she didn't remember leaving the window open. Actually, she was certain she closed it. She yawned and stretched and cracked her eyes open, rubbing the sleep from them.

And let out a startled scream.

Sitting at the edge of her bed watching her sleep was the love of her life Adrien Agreste. Guess that means she didn't dream everything. Adrien held his hands up sheepishly.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! And I probably look like a total creeper right now! I just couldn't wait to see you, but when I got here you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you, so I just sat down and kidna waited and...well..." Adrien looked away and blushed as he let his sentence trail off.

Marinette smiled softly. "It-it's fine, you just startled me is all. And...oh my gosh I'm in my pajamas!" she shrieked, pulling her covers up over her chest. "M-maybe you could go wait on my balcony while I change?" she smiled awkwardly.

"OH! Right, yeah, I'll be up here!" he grinned and climbed out onto the balcony.

Marinette let out a relieved sigh and changed into a cute soft pink sundress with black pindots and white lace trim and straps. She left her hair loose and put on a wide brimmed sun hat before stepping out onto the balcony.

Adrien stared at her with love and awe written plainly on his face, causing her to blush intensely. His eyes followed the blush to the sweetheart neckline of her dress, before his face flushed to match hers as he quickly averted his eyes.

"You look gorgeous," he gushed.

"Th-thank you! It's just something I made to practice some different stitches," Marinette replied, fiddling with the hem.

"You did an amazing job," his voice was filled with awe. Marinette didn't seem to be able to process anymore praise. She just continued to blush.

Adrien rocked back on his heels as they fell back into an awkward silence.

"So," he said.

"So?" she asked back.

"I feel like we should probably have a lot to talk about right now, but all I can think about is kissing you again." His gaze fell onto her lips and she blushed more deeply, if possible.

"I...uh, w-well...we're really lucky my parents aren't home! They wouldn't have been happy if they ran up here when I screamed and found a boy up here!" she said, avoiding his gaze.

"Oh! Yeah, right. I hadn't thought of that. I'm so sorry! I really could have gotten you into serious trouble. Where are they anyways?" he asked curiously.

"They had to make a delivery for a wedding first thing this morning. Although, they should be home in about a half hour," she observed, checking the time on her phone.

Adrien thought for a moment.

"Well, let's go out and get some brunch, my treat? Just leave a note telling them you went out with a friend," Adrien suggested.

"That's actually a really good idea! That would be so n-nice!" she beamed. "But you definitely don't have to pay, I have money!"

"Please, it would be an honor to take you on an actual date, Marinette," Adrien said, taking her hand in his and pressing his lips softly to her knuckles. She blushed softly and nodded. "I'd like that."


End file.
